Like many of you, I turned on the news this past week and saw the reports… Another school shooting. This time in Parkdale, Florida. I couldn’t bear to watch for more than a minute…
Another tragedy.
More death. More shattered lives.
It’s times like these that our emotions can run rampant… grief, fear, anger… These emotions are important and real, and we need to allow ourselves to feel them. God gave us these emotions and they are gifts to help us process the pain we experience.
The danger in times like these, however—especially when we are wrestling with such strong emotions—is the temptation to make enemies of those with whom we disagree. Tragedies like this awaken debates that tend to polarize us. We take sides and find ways to blame each other. Throw in the fact that social media is highly impersonal, and we end up engaging in the wrong conversation in ways that hurt and alienate.
But making enemies of one another will get us nowhere.
[This post initially appeared on the Flourish San Diego website. You can read the entire article and HERE.]
